The German robo-love story "I'm Your Man" by Maria Schrader ("Unorthodox") is on the shortlist of the last 15 films for the 94th Oscars® in the Best International Feature Film category. Alma (Maren Eggert) is a scientist at the famous Pergamon Museum in Berlin. In order to obtain research funds for her work, she is persuaded to participate in an extraordinary study. For three weeks, she is to live with a humanoid robot tailored to her character and needs, whose artificial intelligence is intended to be the perfect life partner for her. Alma meets up with Tom (Dan Stevens), a highly sophisticated machine in human form, created solely to make her happy. "I'm Your Man" tells of an encounter that may await us in the near future. It is a melancholy comedy that looks at questions of love, longing and what makes human beings human. The film was shown at numerous festivals worldwide, including Jerusalem, Toronto, Stockholm and Ghent. At this year's Berlinale, lead actress Maren Eggert was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Acting Performance.
Several German co-productions are also among the selection: "Great Freedom" by Sebastian Meise (AT/DE) for Austria;
"Compartment No. 6" by Juho Kuosmanen (FI/RU/EE/DE) for Finland; , and "Prayers for the Stolen" by Tatiana Huezo (MX/DE/BR/CH) for Mexico. The co-production by the Cologne-based Match Factory is the first feature film by Salvadoran-Mexican documentary filmmaker Huezo, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard series at Cannes in July and received a Special Mention. Since then, the film has screened at numerous international festivals and has already won several prestigious awards.
On 8 February 2022, the Academy will reveal which five films from the shortlist will be going forward to take part in the competition for the Oscar on 27 March. A total of 93 countries submitted films to the race, from Egypt to Vietnam.
Also announced was the shortlist for Best Live Action Short Film, which includes a German-Jordanian co-production "Tala'vision" by Murad Abu Eisheh. The film has already won the Student Academy Award in Gold 2021 and is about eight-year-old Tala, who finds solace and freedom in a forbidden television set in a world shattered by war.
With "Spencer" by Pablo Larraín (DE/UK), a major German co-production about the life of Lady Di is in the running for Best Film Score. The drama, which had its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival, tells the story of Princess Diana's last weekend together with the British royal family at Sandringham Manor in 1991. A few days ago, Kristen Stewart was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her acting performance as Lady Di. There were a total of 136 entries in this category, 15 of which are now on the shortlist.Best Film Song has Leos Carax's musical “Annette” listed, a film with production funding from the mighty Film Foundation North Rhine-Westphalia. "Annette," which had its world premiere at the Festival de Cannes and has already won numerous awards, is in the running for a music Oscar nomination, for which the '80s legends of "Sparks" are responsible. The opening song "So May We Start" features Marion Cotillard, Adam Driver and Simon Helberg. The musical is a rock opera about the love of a comedian (Driver) and an opera singer (Cotillard) and their daughter Annette. From 84 songs submitted, the Academy has now selected 15 for the shortlist.
Sources: German Films and Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
Image: Dan Stevens in "I'm Your Man" (2021) Majestic Filmverleih, DFF © Majestic
